Farm attack: Female cop in court

Johannesburg – A female police officer has been arrested following a farm attack in Schweizer-Reneke in North West, and police are looking for a former police officer in connection with the incident.

Abraham Oosthuizen, 35, a seed and cattle farmer on the farm Grootlaagte, was attacked at 20:00 on Friday when he arrived back at his farm after dropping off his workers.

He stopped his bakkie at a shed about 15m from his house and got out with documents and his .22 shotgun in his hand.

The next thing he knew, three men were storming towards him and fired a shot at him.

Shots fired

“My first reaction was to attack and I straight away fired one shot from the hip,” said Oosthuizen.

One of the attackers ran away but two hid behind his bakkie. “They shot at me over the bonnet of the bakkie.”

Oosthuizen ran into his house, locked the door and called other farmers for help over the two-way radio.

Some farmers arrived within seven minutes. They started looking for the attackers and searched the farm.

“The farmers were fantastic,” said Oosthuizen. “Some of them drove up to 60km to help me.

“As they drove, they closed down roads and searched people.”

Suspicious bakkie

A suspicious white Colt bakkie was forced from the road on the Hartsfontein dirt road. The police arrived on the scene and the woman who was behind the wheel was arrested.

She was a 34-year-old constable from the Florida police station in Roodepoort’s crime prevention unit.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Sam Tselanyane couldn’t say why the bakkie was suspicious or what linked the woman to the attack.

He only said the bakkie was searched and it was established that it was registered in the name of a former Rustenburg police officer who had apparently resigned from the police force in February.

This former policeman was allegedly also part of the attack and was meant to hand himself over to police on Sunday, but this had not happened by late on Sunday night.

Another suspect, a 36-year-old man, was arrested in Ipelegeng, outside Schweizer-Reneke, on Sunday.

Another suspect is still missing.

Attempted murder charge

Several police items were found in the bakkie, amongst others, the former police officer’s certificate of appointment, the female police constable’s certificate of appointment, a police torch, two handheld radios and an orange emergency light.

One of the suspect’s driver’s licence, as well as a Z88 pistol and a magazine with 15 cartridges were confiscated.

Oosthuizen described the alleged police involvement in the attack as “disappointing”.

The female police officer and the 36-year-old man will appear in court on Monday on a charge of attempted murder.